2012 Ford Focus

Comments

Regarding the rear suspension issue; I don't get all hung up about the engineering detail, I drive them and determine if they'll do the job I want or if they won't. Multilink, I-Beam, trailing link torsion beam, I've driven good and bad examples of each.

Regarding the Mazda3, 2011 isn't the model year to buy as the new 2.0 liter SkyActiv-G engine doesn't make its debut until the 2012 model year. Depending upon when "Buy" time comes for me, a 4-Door Golf TDI 6-Speed and the 2012 Mazda3 5-Door SkyActive-G 6-Speed will be at the top of my list. Depending on a few other factors (such as which of our current cars we decide to keep, and whether GM decides to offer a manual transmission in the higher line Cruze models), the Focus and the Cruze may also make my final short list.

My daughter's Ingot Silver SEL Hatch arrived yesterday. Less than 5 weeks from order to delivery. X plan with $1250 rebates ($750 personal rebate plus $500). Dealer got me 3.0% financing on a 60 month loan so we just kept the down payment in the bank.

So far it's fantastic. It has myford but not MyFordTouch. The left 5-way controls the display in the gauge cluster and the right one controls the one in the center of the dash.

Ambient lighting is ho-hum - guess I was expecting something more dramatic.

It isn't super roomy but I fit just fine in both the front and rear seats and I'm not small. I don't understand all the complaints about interior room. It's a C class vehicle for goodness sake.

The transmission is quirky at low speeds but it's not bad - just different. Put it in S mode without hitting the selectshift buttons and it's more responsive but still shifts automatically. Tried it in manual mode a little and it seems to shift very quickly and crisply as I expected. Much better than a regular automatic.

I may seriously consider a ST next year for myself. I averaged 37 mpg on a short test trip compared to the 17 mpg I get now in my 3.0L Fusion. It's very tempting.

There is considerably more room for tall drivers in the front of my 2012 Focus compared to my wife's Mazda 3, girth wise probably the opposite due to the excellent side bolstering of my Focus's sport seats.

How do you have the seats adjusted for height? I ask because if you don't have them set the same, then an incorrect impression of the relative headroom will be made.

FWIW #1, my own impression of the Focus, the Gen 2 Mazda3, and the Gen 1 Mazda3 (my current ride) is that the Gen 1 Mazda has more head room than the other two (which I could discern no difference between).

So, per the numbers, the Focus has 0.2" more front and rear headroom than the Mazda3. Given that the headroom appears to be generous enough in each of the above cars for all but the tallest of drivers, the headroom number is a bit moot. That said, the legroom numbers (where the Mazda3 has a whopping 3" more legroom than the Focus) are very much an issue for anybody transporting teens and adults for any distance in the rear seats.

I'm 6'2" with long legs and relatively shorter torso, no problem with headroon in either though I do set the Focus seat low. I was referring principally to the Focus being more comfortable by it having more front legroom than the wife's 2009 Mazda 3.

Ahhh, now I see where the disconnect is; while the previous generation of the Mazda3 (out of production for over two and a half years now) does indeed have less front leg room than the new Focus, the current generation of the Mazda is sporting one tenth of an inch more than the Ford (and three more inches of rear leg room).

As a qualifier for the various statements I've made in this thread, unless otherwise specified, all comparisons between the Focus and the Mazda3 are between "like generations" (i.e. 2012 Focus vs. 2011 Mazda3).

Off topic (sort of), my son managed to not set the parking brake in my car well enough a week and a half ago, and my 2009 Mazda3 rolled away, down a hill, across a (thankfully empty) residential street, down the front yard across the street, and into a rock wall. Not only was the lower grill area obliterated, so too was the bottom of the A/C condenser and the radiator, and the oil filter mount was literally ripped from the engine. Needless to say I'm driving a rental these days. Funny thing, my rental is a 2010 Focus; go figure. :P

About two and a half years ago, I forgot to set my parking brake in a garage when I went to take a test on a campus. After the test, I found my car had rolled from its space, about two car lengths out. It was just sitting there in the middle of the garage (with a ticket warning me to move my car by the end of the day). Another four feet or so and it would have hit the garage incline and things would have gotten very, very ugly. I got really lucky, though other drivers probably thought I was a total jack***.

I was taught that as well, however, there are two issues in play here:

1) There are very few curbs here in New Hampshire, and none where the car was parked, and 2) apparently Driver's Ed no longer covers that subject. In fact, when I first explained to him the concept of turning the wheel he looked at me like I was nuts.

Hopefully I'll get my car back this week so that I can lose the Focus (among other things, I hate driving a car with only two pedals under the dash).

was wondering if new IIHS top safety pick status given to 2012 focus also applies to the wagon/5-door models? (it was unclear; the info specified "four doors".) also: had been ready to shoot on 7-seat ford c-max when it was yanked from US market. anyone know how the 5-seat c-max energi and hybrid versions will rate vs. the 2012 focus on safety?

Anything with 4 or 5 stars nowadays is about as safe as you can get. Even the ones with 3 stars are safer than the best cars 10 years ago. The tests keep getting harder and harder and the vehicles better and better. Don't sweat it.

They are selling super fast here in Kansas city! I just bought one last week. The dealer had six on friday morning and when I came in mid day saturday he had zero. One showed up as I was about to leave.I REALLY like this car as of now. For a small car it has a amazing ride and it is super quiet! I got the SE and they are going o put leather and a sunroof in it next week. I did not need the added options the SEL has and it was cheaper to go this route.

The transmission is a bit funky at low speeds for sure. The steering is pinky simple to turn. I have ran two full tanks of gas through it splitting between city and highway and I am averaging 33MPG.

Is the car small? Well sure it is, it a compact car! I am 6'1 and weigh 270 and have zero issues with this car. I have NEVER owned a car as my DD as I have always had trucks for 25 years. This is a nifty little vehicle to say the least. Ford scores big on this one for me!

I guess that "everthing is up to date in Kansas City", good luck with your new car. Obviously, the Leather and the Sun Roof are after market. Enhancing seats or changing them out is one thing, but I would have some hesitation about the roof modification. Factory is always a safer bet when it comes to structural aspects of a vehicle.Thanks for the post and keep us informed. I have thoroughly enjoyed driving my ' 04 Focus ( with factory Sun roof ) for nearly 8 years. I considered purchasing another one, but this current daily driver is still going very strong.

Focus is very hot right now. I was in having an oil change done on my car and was talking to sales person. This dealership is considered one of the larger in my town. He was telling me the Focus is hot, hot, hot and are selling as fast as they get them in. Looks like Ford hit pay dirt. If you can, wait. Wait for the hype to settle down. Simple supply/demand. You are going to pay if you want it now....

The right column of this page is an advertisement currently showing a $500 "Ford Credit Bonus Cash" and when I do a TMV for a Focus with an MSRP of $21,895 ($20,451 invoice) it shows a value of $20,937.

Gambit:Quite a coincidence that you should mention this. It came to my attention the other day that I have seen over the last week at least 2 Foci a day. Not as much as the New Elantra but it has caught up with the Cruze for example, in my very informal and unscientific survey. Taking into consideration that Focus has not been "available" to potential buyers nearly as long as the other two, this may be significant.Trim Level:Back on post #332, I reported seeing a sales rep's "cheat sheet" on anticipated production numbers broken down by trim level. 65% of entire build will be "SE". Of that number, it will be 50/50 betwen hatch and sedan.If one prefers the Hatch configuration, you are paying more but you are going up a trim level. This is especially apparent in the back seat configuration. Personally, I still prefer the Sedan, but from a practical standpoint, if I do buy a new Focus it will probably be a Hatch.

I just watched Charlie Rose introduce the president of Ford. The Focus deliveries or orders will be slowed down due to equipment problems at their factory. He also , stated that the president did the right thing bailing out GM@ Chyrsler. He was proud that Ford got it's own financing through the banks and the American public took notice of the great things Ford is doing. Ford has paid back 22 billion to the banks up to now and will repay the remaining 6 billion this year. He is not a car guy a reporter asked himand being a plane guy(Boeing) How is going to help Ford ? The answer a Boeing 777 has 40million working parts and flies w/o a problem, while a Focus has 10,000 parts.

I'm dying to go test drive a 2012 Focus hatchback, but I live a couple hours from dealers, so it's most of a day to go over to check them out. I've read nothing but bad things about the automatic; that it's geared such that the car shifts way sooner than any sane person would shift if it were a manual. I understand that this is where the high MPG comes from, but how distracting is it? Does it affect the acceleration at low speeds very much? Also, I read that when you put the transmission in Sport Mode, it automatically downshifts when you apply the brakes, which could defeat the whole purpose of Sport Mode if one was driving on curvy roads. Not sure I want to go back to a manual at this point in my life. So - input from auto trans. owners, please? Deal breaker or minor nuisance?

Most of the complaints are coming from test drivers, not people who actually own the cars. My daughter has one and honestly the only thing I noticed is a bit of stumbling when slowing down as it downshifts. But owners also report that it smooths out after 1K miles or so (I haven't driven my daughters recently to test it again).

If you're on curvy roads and hit the brakes wouldn't you WANT it to downshift so that you had more power coming out of the curve? I can see where an upshift is unwanted but not a downshift if it's needed.

No need to worry about normal operation, but if you're really picky about how it operates in specific conditions in sport mode or selectshift auto-manual mode then you should do an extensive test drive.